If someone had bet me five dollars yesterday that Al Gore’s next climate change slideshow would include a dick joke, I probably would have taken that bet.

And today, I would be out five dollars. Because the former vice president’s newest climate change slideshow does include a dick joke—and for the purpose of exposing fossil fuel industry lies, it might be the best one I’ve ever heard.

First, some necessary context: Gore’s new slideshow was actually a TED Talk, presented last night to a packed audience at The Fillmore Theater in Detroit, Michigan. The talk is part of the TED Countdown Summit, which is debuting dozens of new presentations focused on climate solutions this week.

I’m here all week to listen to the speakers, and I’ll send you all a summation of what I’ve learned at the end. (Make sure you’re subscribed to get it).

But after watching Gore’s speech last night, I thought it was noteworthy enough to warrant its own letter. Because in addition to including a cheeky joke, I felt it marked a turning point in the former vice president’s climate advocacy.

With this new talk, it’s become clear that the man who made “An Inconvenient Truth” famous is no longer primarily focused on convincing people that the climate crisis is real or dangerous. He’s turned a corner, and is now focused on convincing people that if they truly care about solving the climate crisis, they must turn their ire toward the fossil fuel industry—and boot them from the negotiating table before it’s too late.

“The climate crisis is a fossil fuel crisis”

The whole TED talk translates much better than my writing of it. But the video hasn’t been released yet, so this is all you get for now. (I’ll send you the link to the full thing when it’s aired)...